The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 837: Wait Patiently

Gao Yang teleported into the shop.

It was pitch black inside. Gao Yang snapped his fingers to conjure a small fire, which slowly led the way like a burning flying bug.

It cast light on the interior of the shop. Most things had been moved out, leaving only a few empty shelves and a small counter. On the counter was a stack of a few women’s fashion magazines from quite some time ago.

Gao Yang didn’t linger. He made it across the shop and climbed the stairs in the back, going up to the small attic on the third floor.

Gao Yang didn’t teleport through the wall, but instead inspected the wooden door leading to the attic under the firelight. There was an obvious band of dust on the floor, suggesting that someone had opened the door recently and shook it off.

Gao Yang opened the door and hunched his back to carefully enter the attic.

It did not look much different from what he had seen in the dream; it was covered in dust and cobwebs, and the air permeated with the smell of decay. Gao Yang put out the fire. The moonlight streaming down from the skylight was enough for him to see clearly.

He looked around, quickly spotting a big paper box in a corner of the attic. It wasn’t sealed with tape, and there was no Black Gold safe inside, but only some romance novels, shoujo mangas, and youth magazines—all from a long time ago.

Gao Yang took each of the books out and stopped when he got to half of them, his gaze darkening. There. That was the diary in Liu Qingying’s dream, and a Black Gold fountain pen was attached to the cover.

Gao Yang didn’t immediately pick it up. He conjured a double and had it pick up the diary and fountain pen for close inspection. Only after making sure there was no danger did he merge with the double.

Just in case, though, Gao Yang had gloved his hands with a layer of Absolute Defense’s energy.

He opened the diary and saw nothing.

Gao Yang was suddenly hit with great disappointment and some disbelief. He flipped through the pages. All blank.

Was it meant for only those fated to read it, and no one else?

Gao Yang thought for a moment before coming to a different conclusion. He took off the cap of the fountain pen and decided to write something on the page. That might trigger something. All existence had a purpose. If there were a diary and a fountain pen, the pen must be meant to write something on it.

What should he write?

Gao Yang gave it a good thought before writing three words and a period concisely but with great care.

—Liu Qingying died.

He stared at the writing on the page and waited patiently.

Something incredible happened soon. The ink on the white page faded like it was melting into water before vanishing.

There is more than meets the eye with this diary!

As soon as the thought crossed Gao Yang’s mind, two black words penned with black ink appeared on the page.

—Roger that.

Gao Yang’s surprise intensified. Who gave the answer, and what did it mean?

A few seconds later, the black ink faded like it had never been there. Gao Yang almost suspected that he was seeing things.

He calmed himself and thought for a moment. Then he wrote on the page: Who are you? What’s your goal? Why did Liu Qingying seek me out?

The blue ink faded word by word like it was devoured by the diary for digestion and reassembling. Not long after, the diary returned with two black words.

—No comment.

Gao Yang frowned. Then he quickly wrote another question: What do you want from me?

Half a minute later, the diary gave him a response.

—Wait patiently.

This time, the writing didn’t disappear.

Gao Yang didn’t have the presence of mind to make his writing neat. He quickly scribbled: I don’t understand.

But this time, none of his strokes left any traces on the page. It was as if the fountain pen had run out of “ink”, and the diary didn’t give any response.

Staring at the words “wait patiently” on the page, Gao Yang was silent for a long while.

Then he let out a soft breath and tucked the diary and fountain pen in the inner pocket of his coat.

...

West of West Nation, forty-eight hours after the fall of the Millennium Tower.

Under the cold moonlight, a red off-road vehicle raced across the desert, leaving waves of dust in its wake as it traversed the terrain covered in short weeds. The driver was a young woman in an oversized hoodie, the hood covering half of her face. She wore a black mask adorned with curse words in a foreign language, ensuring her features remained hidden.

Gradually, the vehicle slowed as it approached the foot of a great rocky bluff, soon disappearing from sight. An obscure cavern, large enough to accommodate a car, opened in a yawn at the base of the bluff. Once inside, the woman hopped out and opened the passenger door, lifting two heavy bags of supplies from the seat.

Before her stretched a dark cave system, leading to unknown depths. The different tunnels looked winding and complex, like a natural maze, but it was an artificial trick to the eye. No matter which tunnel one entered, they would get lost and keep going in circles, unable to escape without employing an unorthodox method.

This was Lovely Lamb’s handiwork. Half a month ago, she acquired her second Talent, Maze, serial number 119, Support-type. As the name suggested, it allowed the user to create a maze in a certain location. The size and complexity of the maze would depend on the landscape of the place and the geological features.

Carrying the supplies, the woman didn’t walk into any of the tunnel, but took a deep breath with the two bags in her arms. Strange light blue energy rippled from her feet. It was as if the ground had turned into water.

Her feet quickly sank in, then her whole body did.

She just used Intangibility. If the Talent user only wore basic clothes with a small number of personal belongings, the speed at which they went through grounds and walls would be fast, but if they were carrying more things or more people, the process would take some time. The user would have to concentrate on controlling the conversion of their energy. If they made a mistake, the items they were carrying could merge with the ground or wall, more or less irreversibly.

She went thirty meters underground and dropped into an underground space.

This had been a private nuclear bunker built a few decades ago, never seeing any use. After the owner’s passing, the place had been left forgotten.

That was until the Twelve Zodiac Signs found and renovated it to turn it into one of their secret bases.

The interior was made to resemble a well-lit modern living room. Lovely Lamb sat on a large, comfortable sofa holding a remote control, watching an animation with full focus. The colorful images reflected in her big eyes flickered and moved.

“Cute Little Lamb.”

Hearing the voice, Lovely Lamb dropped the remote control immediately and turned around.